View source for Junichiro Koizumi

{{short description|Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006}}
{{Eastern name order|Koizumi Jun'ichirō}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Junichiro Koizumi
| native_name         = {{nobold|{{lang|ja|小泉 純一郎}}}}
| native_name_lang    = ja
| image               = Junichiro_Koizumi_20010426_(cropped).jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 2001
| office1             = [[Prime Minister of Japan]]
| monarch1            = [[Akihito]]
| predecessor1        = [[Yoshirō Mori]]
| successor1          = [[Shinzo Abe]]
| party               = [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democratic]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1942|01|08|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Yokosuka]], Kanagawa, Japan
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[:ja:宮本佳代子|Kayoko Miyamoto]]|1978|1982|end=div}}
| children            = {{plainlist|
*[[Kotaro Koizumi|Kōtarō Koizumi]]
*[[Shinjirō Koizumi]]
*Yoshinaga Miyamoto}}
| alma_mater          = {{plainlist|
*[[Keio University]] ([[Bachelor of Economics|BEc]])
*[[University College London]]}}
| term_start1         = 26 April 2001
| term_end1           = 26 September 2006
| office2             = [[President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|President of the Liberal Democratic Party]]
| vicepresident2      = [[Taku Yamasaki]]
| 1blankname2         = {{nowrap|[[Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party|Secretary-General]]}}
| 1namedata2          = {{unbulleted list|Taku Yamasaki|[[Shinzo Abe]]|[[Tsutomu Takebe]]}}
| term_start2         = 20 April 2001
| term_end2           = 20 September 2006
| predecessor2        = [[Yoshirō Mori]]
| successor2          = [[Shinzo Abe]]
| office3             = [[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare|Minister of Health and Welfare]]
| term_start3         = 7 November 1996
| term_end3           = 29 July 1998
| primeminister3      = [[Ryutaro Hashimoto]]
| predecessor3        = [[Naoto Kan]]
| successor3          = [[Sohei Miyashita]]
| term_start4         = 27 December 1988
| term_end4           = 10 August 1989
| primeminister4      = {{plainlist|
*[[Noboru Takeshita]]
*[[Sōsuke Uno]]}}
| predecessor4        = Takao Fujimoto
| successor4          = Saburo Toida
| office5             = [[Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications|Minister of Post and Telecommunications]]
| term_start5         = 12 December 1992
| term_end5           = 20 July 1993
| primeminister5      = [[Kiichi Miyazawa]]
| predecessor5        = [[Hideo Watanabe]]
| successor5          = Kiichi Miyazawa
| office6             = {{unbulleted list|Member of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]]|from [[Kanagawa Prefecture|Kanagawa]]}}
| term_start6         = 10 December 1972
| term_end6           = 21 July 2009
| predecessor6        = ''Multi-member district''
| successor6          = [[Shinjirō Koizumi]]
| constituency6       = {{unbulleted list|2nd district|(1972–1996)|[[Kanagawa 11th district|11th district]]|(1996–2009)}}
| parents             = [[Jun'ya Koizumi]] (father)<br>[[:ja:小泉芳江|Yoshie Koizumi]] (mother)
| relatives           = [[Koizumi family]]
}}
'''Junichiro Koizumi''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ɔɪ|ˈ|z|uː|m|i}} {{respell|koy|ZOO|mee}};<ref>{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|Koizumi|access-date=21 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/koizumi|title=Koizumi|work=[[Collins English Dictionary]]|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|access-date=21 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Koizumi|access-date=21 September 2019}}</ref> {{lang|ja|小泉 純一郎}}, ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' {{IPA|ja|ko.iꜜzɯmi (d)ʑɯɰ̃.iꜜtɕiɾoː|}}; born 8 January 1942) is a Japanese retired politician who served as [[Prime Minister of Japan]] and [[President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|president of the Liberal Democratic Party]] (LDP) from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2009. He is the [[List of prime ministers of Japan by time in office|sixth-longest serving]] Prime Minister in Japanese history.<ref name="quit"/>

Widely seen as a maverick leader of the LDP upon his election to the position in 2001, Koizumi became known as a [[neoliberal]] economic reformer, focusing on reducing Japan's [[government debt]] and the [[privatisation]] of its [[Japan Post|postal service]]. In the [[2005 Japanese general election|2005 election]], Koizumi led the LDP to win one of the largest parliamentary majorities in modern [[History of Japan|Japanese history]]. Koizumi also attracted international attention through his deployment of the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]] to Iraq, and through his visits to the [[Yasukuni Shrine]] that fueled diplomatic tensions with neighbouring China and South Korea. Koizumi resigned as prime minister in 2006.

Although Koizumi maintained a low profile for several years after he left office, he returned to national attention in 2013 as an advocate for abandoning [[nuclear power in Japan]], in the wake of the 2011 [[Fukushima nuclear accident|Fukushima nuclear disaster]], which contrasted with the pro-nuclear views espoused by the LDP governments both during and after Koizumi's term in office.<ref name="jrt1002">{{cite news|last=Nishiyama|first=George|title=Fukushima Watch: Popular Ex-PM Koizumi Comes Out Against Nukes|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2013/10/02/popular-ex-pm-koizumi-comes-out-against-nuclear-power/|access-date=9 January 2014|newspaper=Wall Street Journal Japan Real Time|date=2 October 2013}}</ref>

==Early life==
Koizumi is a third-generation politician of the [[Koizumi family]]. His father, [[Jun'ya Koizumi]], was director general of the [[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Japan Defense Agency]] and a member of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]]. His grandfather, [[Koizumi Matajirō]], called "Tattoo Minister" because of a large tattoo on his body, was Minister of Posts and Telecommunications under Prime Ministers [[Hamaguchi Osachi|Hamaguchi]] and [[Wakatsuki Reijirō|Wakatsuki]] and an early advocate of postal privatization.

Born in [[Yokosuka, Kanagawa]] on 8 January 1942, Koizumi was educated at [[Kanagawa Prefectural Yokosuka High School|Yokosuka High School]]. He graduated with a [[Bachelor of Economics]] degree from [[Keio University]]. He attended [[University College London]] before returning to Japan in August 1969 upon the death of his father.

He stood for election to the lower house in December; however, he did not earn enough votes to win election as a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) representative. In 1970, he was hired as a secretary to [[Takeo Fukuda]], who was Minister of Finance at the time and was elected as prime minister in 1976.

In the general elections of December 1972, Koizumi was elected as a member of the Lower House for Kanagawa's 2nd district, a seat previously held by his father. He joined Fukuda's faction within the LDP. After that, he was re-elected ten times.

==Member of House of Representatives==
[[File:Junichiro Koizumi 1997.jpg|left|thumb|225x225px|Koizumi as [[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare|Health Minister]], 1997]]
Koizumi gained his first senior post in 1979 as Parliamentary Vice Minister of Finance, and his first ministerial post in 1988 as Minister of Health and Welfare under Prime Ministers [[Noboru Takeshita]] and [[Sōsuke Uno]]. He held cabinet posts again in 1992 (Minister of Posts and Telecommunications in the [[Kiichi Miyazawa|Miyazawa]] cabinet) and 1996–1998 (Minister of Health and Welfare in the [[Ryutaro Hashimoto|Hashimoto]] cabinets).

In 1994, with the LDP in opposition, Koizumi became part of a new LDP faction, [[Shinseiki]], made up of younger and more motivated parliamentarians led by [[Taku Yamasaki]], [[Koichi Kato (LDP)|Koichi Kato]] and Koizumi, a group popularly dubbed "YKK" after the [[zipper]] manufacturer [[YKK]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Ohashi's anti-Koizumi campaign goes on without policies|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Ohashi's+anti-Koizumi+campaign+goes+on+without+policies.-a077236555|access-date=9 January 2014|newspaper=Kyodo News|date=17 July 2001}}</ref>

After Prime Minister [[Morihiro Hosokawa]] resigned in 1994 and the LDP returned to power in a coalition government, Koizumi and Hosokawa teamed up with [[Shusei Tanaka]] of [[New Party Sakigake]] in a strategic dialogue across party lines regarding Japan becoming a permanent member of the [[United Nations Security Council]]. Although this idea was not popular within the LDP and never came to fruition, Koizumi and Hosokawa maintained a close working relationship across party lines, with Hosokawa tacitly serving as Koizumi's personal envoy to China during times of strained Sino-Japanese relations.<ref>{{cite news|title=「細川・小泉」あるか２度目の連携|url=http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFK09013_Z00C14A1000000/?dg=1|access-date=9 January 2014|newspaper=日本経済新聞|date=9 January 2014}}</ref>

Koizumi competed for the presidency of the LDP in September 1995 and July 1998, but he gained little support losing decisively to [[Ryutaro Hashimoto]] and then [[Keizō Obuchi]], both of whom had broader bases of support within the party. However, after Yamasaki and Kato were humiliated in a disastrous attempt to force a [[Motion of no confidence|vote of no confidence]] against Prime Minister [[Yoshirō Mori]] in 2000, Koizumi became the last remaining credible member of the YKK trio, which gave him leverage over the reform-minded wing of the party.

On 24 April 2001, Koizumi was elected president of the LDP. He was initially considered an outside candidate against Hashimoto, who was running for his second term as prime minister. However, in the first poll of prefectural party organizations, Koizumi won 87 to 11 percent; in the second vote of Diet members, Koizumi won 51 to 40 percent. He defeated Hashimoto by a final tally of 298 to 155 votes.<ref name="anderson">Anderson, Gregory E., {{Cite web |url=http://www.asianperspective.org/articles/v28n1-g.pdf |title="Lionheart or Paper Tiger? A First-term Koizumi Retrospective" |access-date=28 January 2006 |archive-date=19 February 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060219014814/http://www.asianperspective.org/articles/v28n1-g.pdf |url-status=dead }}(), ''Asian Perspective'' 28:149–182, March 2004.</ref> He was made Prime Minister of Japan on 26 April, and his coalition secured 78 of 121 seats in the Upper House elections in July.

==Premiership (2001–2006)==

===Domestic policy===
{{Neoliberalism sidebar|people}}
Within Japan, Koizumi pushed for new ways to revitalise the moribund economy, aiming to act against bad debts with commercial banks, privatize the postal savings system, and reorganize the factional structure of the LDP. He spoke of the need for a period of painful restructuring in order to improve the future.  To design policy initiatives in 2001 he used the new Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy (Keizai Zaisei Seisaku Tanto Daijin) or CEFP.  It issued an annual planning document, [[Honebuto no hōshin|"Basic Policies for Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform"]].  It planned a major reorganization of the central government, and shaped economic policy in cooperation with key cabinet members. To meet the challenge of economic stagnation CEFP took an integrated approach, a worldwide economic view, and, promoted greater transparency; its philosophy was neoliberal.<ref>Hiroshi Kaihara,  "Japan’s political economy and Koizumi’s structural reform: A rise and fall of neoclassical economic reform in Japan." ''East Asia'' 25.4 (2008): 389–405.</ref>

In the fall of 2002, Koizumi appointed Keio University economist and frequent television commentator [[Heizō Takenaka]] as Minister of State for Financial Services and head of the [[Financial Services Agency|Financial Services Agency (FSA)]] to fix the country's banking crisis. Bad debts of banks were dramatically cut with the NPL ratio of major banks approaching half the level of 2001. The Japanese economy went through a slow but steady recovery, and the stock market dramatically rebounded. The GDP growth for 2004 was one of the highest among [[G7]] nations, according to the [[International Monetary Fund]] and [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]]. Takenaka was appointed as a Postal Reform Minister in 2004 for the privatization of [[Japan Post]], operator of the country's Postal Savings system.<ref name="Kaihara 2008">Kaihara,  "Japan’s political economy and Koizumi’s structural reform" (2008): 389–405.</ref>

Koizumi moved the LDP away from its traditional rural agrarian base toward a more urban, [[neoliberal]] core, as Japan's population grew in major cities and declined in less populated areas, although under current purely geographical districting, rural votes in Japan are still many times more powerful than urban ones. In addition to the privatization of Japan Post (which many rural residents fear will reduce their access to basic services such as banking), Koizumi also slowed down the LDP's heavy subsidies for infrastructure and industrial development in rural areas. These tensions made Koizumi a controversial but popular figure within his own party and among the Japanese electorate.<ref name="Kaihara 2008"/> Considering both his neoliberal policies and his appeal to populist ideas, Koizumi's political ideology has been characterized "as a populist version of neoliberalism (or as a variant of the populist right) rather than neoliberal populism."<ref>{{cite journal |author=Petter Y. Lindgren |title=Explaining important public contests in Japan: Rhetorical strategies, causality, and populism |journal=Contemporary Japan |date=2023 |volume=37 |pages=110–136 |doi=10.1080/18692729.2023.2247278 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/18692729.2023.2247278|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Foreign policy===
[[File:President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan Shake Hands.jpg|thumb|Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi and U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] meet at the White House on 25 September 2001.]]
Although Koizumi's foreign policy was focused on closer relations with the United States and UN-centered diplomacy, which were adopted by all of his predecessors, he went further, supporting the US policies in the [[war on terrorism]]. He decided to deploy the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]] to Iraq, which was the first Japanese military mission in an active foreign war zone since the end of [[World War II]]. Many Japanese commentators observed that favorable US-Japan relations were based on Koizumi's personal friendship with US President [[George W. Bush]]. White House officials described the first meeting between Koizumi and Bush at [[Camp David]] as "incredibly warm", with the two men playing catch with a baseball.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Chen|first1=Edwin|title=Bush Enjoys a Warm Meeting With Koizumi|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=1 July 2001}}</ref> Since leaving office, he has defended his decision to send Japanese troops to Iraq.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-08-10 |title=Junichiro Koizumi: 'I'm not strange. I'm extraordinary' |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/5b5a7770-9a3d-11e8-9702-5946bae86e6d |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/5b5a7770-9a3d-11e8-9702-5946bae86e6d |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-07-09}}</ref> Koizumi also took more assertive attitudes than his predecessors on the issues of [[North Korean abductions of Japanese|North Korean abductions]] and nuclear development.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wwwa.cao.go.jp/notice/20191101notice.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711022730/http://www8.cao.go.jp/survey/tokubetu/h18/h18-jieitai.pdf|url-status=dead|title=内閣府ウェブサイトの常時暗号化による「https:」への切り替え – 内閣府|archive-date=11 July 2007|website=wwwa.cao.go.jp}}</ref>{{Failed verification||reason=This is data from a survey about JSDF operations in Iraq, nothing to do with North Korea or nuclear program|date=October 2025}}

====Self-Defense Forces policy====
Although Koizumi did not initially campaign on the issue of defense reform,<ref name="anderson"/> he approved the expansion of the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]] (JSDF) and in October 2001 they were given greater scope to operate outside of the country. Some of these troops were [[Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group|dispatched to Iraq]]. Koizumi's government also introduced a bill to upgrade the [[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Defense Agency]] to ministry status; finally, the Defense Agency became the Japanese [[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Ministry of Defense]] on 9 January 2007.<ref name="june06">"[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060617a7.html Diet closes for summer, puts lid on Koizumi legacy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606141128/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060617a7.html |date=June 6, 2011 }}," ''Japan Times'' (registration required), 17 June 2006.</ref>
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:21apec5.jpg|thumbnail|right|Koizumi meeting with Chinese President [[Hu Jintao]] in 2004]] -->

====Visits to Yasukuni Shrine====
Koizumi has often been noted for his controversial visits to the [[Yasukuni Shrine]], starting on 13 August 2001. He visited the shrine six times as prime minister. Because the shrine honors Japan's war dead, which also include many convicted [[Japanese war criminals]] and 14 executed Class A [[war criminals]], these visits drew strong condemnation and protests from both Japan's neighbours, mainly China and South Korea, and many Japanese citizens. China and South Korea's people hold bitter memories of Japanese invasion and occupation during the first half of the 20th century. China and South Korea refused to have their representatives meet Koizumi in Japan and their countries. There were no mutual visits between Chinese and Japanese leaders from October 2001, and between South Korean and Japanese leaders from June 2005. The standstill ended when the next prime minister Abe visited China and South Korea in October 2006.

In China, the visits contributed to widespread anti-Japanese riots, which were also accompanied by other more peaceful [[2005 anti-Japanese demonstrations|large anti-Japan demonstrations across East Asia]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Asia press concern at China-Japan row |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4476099.stm |access-date=2 February 2025 |work=BBC News |date=23 April 2005}}</ref> The president, ruling and opposition parties, and much of the media of South Korea openly condemned Koizumi's pilgrimages.<ref>
"[https://archive.today/20130104054337/http://news.naver.com/news/read.php?mode=LSD&office_id=044&article_id=0000023828&section_id=108&menu_id=108 Lawmakers visit Japanese Embassy to protest Koizumi's planned Seoul trip]," ''The Korea Herald'', 12 October 2001.</ref> Many Koreans applauded the president's speeches criticizing Japan, despite the [[Roh Moo-hyun|South Korean President's]] low popularity. When asked about the reaction, Koizumi said the speeches were "for the domestic (audience)".
[[File:Vladimir Putin 20 July 2001-6.jpg|thumb|Koizumi with [[Kofi Annan]], [[George W. Bush]] and [[Vladimir Putin]], 20 July 2001]]

Although Koizumi signed the shrine's visitor book as "Junichiro Koizumi, the Prime Minister of Japan", he claimed that his visits were as a private citizen and not an endorsement of any political stance.<ref>"[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20060126a1.htm Koizumi not backing down on Yasukuni]," ''The Japan Times'' (registration required), 26 January 2006.</ref> China and Korea considered this excuse insufficient. Several journals and news reports in Japan, such as one published by Kyodo News Agency on 15 August 2006, questioned Koizumi's statement of private purpose, as he unreservedly recorded his position on the shrine's guestbook as prime minister. He visited the shrine annually in fulfillment of a campaign pledge. Koizumi's last visit as prime minister was on 15 August 2006, fulfilling a campaign pledge to visit on the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4789905.stm|work=BBC News|title=Koizumi shrine visit stokes anger|date=15 August 2006|access-date=3 April 2010}}</ref>

Eleven months after his resignation as prime minister, Koizumi revisited the shrine on 15 August 2007 to mark the 62nd anniversary of Japan's surrender in [[World War II]]. His 2007 visit attracted less attention from the media than his prior visits while he was in office.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/photo/070815/ids_photos_wl/r1219897673.jpg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602175340/http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070815/ids_photos_wl/r1219897673.jpg|url-status=dead|title=Yahoo news|archive-date=2 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-10-22 |title=Koizumi, Former Japan Premier, to Quit Parliament After Aso Win – Bloomberg |website=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aZ01YlW1zurQ&refer=japan |access-date=2023-05-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022191214/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aZ01YlW1zurQ&refer=japan |archive-date=22 October 2012 }}</ref>

====Statements on World War II====
On 15 August 2005, the sixtieth anniversary of the end of World War II, Koizumi publicly stated that "I would like to express keen remorse and heartfelt apologies" and vowed Japan would never again take "the path to war".<ref>{{cite news| title=Koizumi apologizes for war wounds|date=31 August 2005|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/08/15/pacific.victoryday/|work=[[CNN]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051218183732/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/08/15/pacific.victoryday/|archive-date=18 December 2005}}</ref>

===Popularity===
[[File:Junichiro Koizumi.jpg|thumb|Koizumi meets children in [[Sea Island, Georgia]], shortly before the [[30th G8 summit|2004 G8 summit]], hosted by the United States.]]
Koizumi was an extremely popular leader at certain points in his tenure. His outspoken nature and colourful past contributed to that, and his nicknames included "Lionheart" and "Maverick".<ref name="anderson"/> During his time in office, the Japanese public referred to him as ''Jun-chan'' (the suffix "chan" in the Japanese language is used as a term of familiarity, typically between children, "Jun" is a contraction of Junichiro). In June 2001, he enjoyed an approval rating of 80 percent.<ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2001/BUSINESS/asia/06/11/japan.popularity/index.html Koizumi's popularity hits fresh peak], CNN, 12 June 2001. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404112333/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/BUSINESS/asia/06/11/japan.popularity/index.html |date=4 April 2013 }}</ref>

In January 2002, Koizumi fired his Foreign Minister [[Makiko Tanaka]], replacing her with [[Yoriko Kawaguchi]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Japanese Cabinet plays politics with crying game|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=20020201&id=ZExWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6660,63155|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=12 March 2015}}</ref> Tanaka had enjoyed high public approval ratings. A few days before her dismissal, when she was filmed crying after a dispute with government officials, Koizumi generated controversy with his statement "tears are women's ultimate weapons". Following an economic slump and a series of LDP scandals that claimed the career of YKK member [[Koichi Kato (LDP)|Koichi Kato]], by April Koizumi's popularity rating had fallen 30 percentage points since his nomination as prime minister.<ref>"[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1916438.stm Koizumi ally quits politics over scandal]," BBC News, 8 April 2002.</ref>

Koizumi was re-elected in 2003 and his popularity surged as the economy recovered. His proposal to cut pension benefits as a move to fiscal reform turned out to be highly unpopular. Two visits to North Korea to solve the issue of abducted Japanese nationals only somewhat{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} raised his popularity, as he could not secure several abductees' returns to Japan. In the [[2004 Japanese House of Councillors election|House of Councilors elections in 2004]], the LDP performed only marginally{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} better than the opposition [[Democratic Party of Japan]] (DPJ), winning 32 more seats than the latter obtained.

In 2005, the House of Councilors rejected the contentious [[Japan Post|postal privatization bills]]. Koizumi previously made it clear that he would dissolve the lower house if the bill failed to pass. The Democratic Party, while expressing support for the privatization, made a tactical vote against the bill. Fifty-one LDP members also either voted against the bills or abstained.

On 8 August 2005, Koizumi, as promised, dissolved the House of Representatives and called for [[snap election]]s. He expelled rebel LDP members for not supporting the bill. The LDP's chances for success were initially uncertain; the secretary general of [[New Komeito Party|New Komeito]] (a junior coalition partner with Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party) said that his party would entertain forming a coalition government with the Democratic Party of Japan if the DPJ took a majority in the House of Representatives.<ref>"[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050728a2.htm New Komeito exec signals willingness to jump LDP ship]," ''The Japan Times''(registration required), 28 July 2005.</ref>

Koizumi's popularity rose almost twenty points after he dissolved the House and expelled rebel LDP members. Opinion polls ranked the government's approval ratings between 58 and 65 percent. The electorate saw the election in terms of a vote for or against reform of the postal service, which the Democratic Party and rebel LDP members were seen as being against.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}

The [[2005 Japanese general election|September 2005 elections]] were the LDP's largest victory since 1986, giving the party a large majority in the House of Representatives and nullifying opposing voices in the House of Councilors. In the following Diet session, the last to be held under Koizumi's government, the LDP passed 82 of its 91 proposed bills, including postal privatization.<ref name="june06"/> A number of Koizumi-supported candidates known as "[[Koizumi Children]]" joined the Diet in this election and supported successive LDP governments until the [[2009 Japanese general election|2009 elections]], when most{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} were defeated.

==Retirement==
Koizumi announced that he would step down from office in 2006, per LDP rules, and would not personally choose a successor as many LDP prime ministers have in the past. On 20 September 2006, [[Shinzo Abe]] was [[2006 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) presidential election|elected]] to succeed Koizumi as president of the LDP. Abe succeeded Koizumi as prime minister on 26 September 2006.

Koizumi remained in the Diet through the administrations of Abe and [[Yasuo Fukuda]], but announced his retirement from politics on 25 September 2008, shortly following the election of [[Taro Aso]] as prime minister. He retained his Diet seat until the [[2009 Japanese general election|next general election]], when his son [[Shinjiro Koizumi|Shinjiro]] was elected into the same seat representing the [[Kanagawa's 11th district|Kanagawa 11th district]] in 2009.<ref name="quit">"[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080926a1.html Koizumi to exit political stage]", ''The Japan Times'', 26 September 2008.</ref> Koizumi supported [[Yuriko Koike]] in the [[2008 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election|LDP leadership election]] held earlier in September 2008, but Koike placed a distant third.<ref>Sachiko Sakamaki and Takahiko Hyuga, [https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aZ01YlW1zurQ&refer=japan "Koizumi, Former Japan Premier, to Quit Parliament After Aso Win"], Bloomberg, 26 September 2008.</ref>

Since leaving office as prime minister, Koizumi has not granted a single request for an interview or television appearance, although he has given speeches and had private interactions with journalists.<ref name="okubo0112">{{cite news|last=Okubo |first=Maki |title='We've been lied to,' said ex-Prime Minister Koizumi |url=http://ajw.asahi.com/article/views/column/AJ201401120009 |access-date=13 January 2014 |newspaper=The Asahi Shimbun |date=12 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113195025/https://ajw.asahi.com/article/views/column/AJ201401120009 |archive-date=13 January 2014}}</ref>

==Anti-nuclear advocacy==
Koizumi returned to the national spotlight in October 2013, after seven years of largely avoiding attention, when he gave a speech to business executives in Nagoya in which he stated: "We should aim to be nuclear-free... If the Liberal Democratic Party were to adopt a zero-nuclear policy, then we'd see a groundswell of support for getting rid of nuclear energy." He recalled Japan's reconstruction in the wake of World War II and called for the country to "unite toward a dream of achieving a society based on renewable energy."<ref name="jrt1002" />

Koizumi had been a proponent of nuclear power throughout his term as prime minister, and was one of the first pro-nuclear politicians to change his stance on the issue in the wake of the [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima disaster]] of 2011. His dramatic remarks were widely covered in the Japanese media, with some tabloids speculating that he may break away from the LDP to form a new party with his son Shinjiro.<ref name="jrt1002" /> Economy Minister [[Akira Amari]] characterized Koizumi's stance as pure but simplistic, while other LDP administration officials downplayed the potential impact of Koizumi's views. Former prime minister [[Naoto Kan]], however, expressed hope that Koizumi's status as then-Prime Minister [[Shinzo Abe]]'s "boss" would help put pressure on the government to minimize or eliminate nuclear power in Japan.<ref name="jrt1016">{{cite news|last=Nishiyama|first=George|title=Fukushima Watch: Former PM Koizumi Picks Up Anti-Nuclear Torch|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2013/10/16/fukushima-watch-former-pm-koizumi-picks-up-anti-nuclear-torch/|access-date=9 January 2014|newspaper=Wall Street Journal Japan Real Time|date=16 October 2013}}</ref>

Koizumi defended his change of stance, stating in November that "it is overly optimistic and much more irresponsible to think nuclear power plants can be maintained just with the completion of disposal facilities... We had failed to secure sites for final disposal even before an accident occurred," concluding that "it's better to spend money on developing natural energy resources—citizens are more likely to agree with that idea—than using such large amounts of expenses and energy to advance such a feckless project [as nuclear power]."<ref>{{cite news|title=Koizumi hits back at criticism of sudden no-nuclear stance |url=https://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201311040051 |access-date=9 January 2014 |newspaper=The Asahi Shimbun |date=4 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109165538/https://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201311040051 |archive-date=9 January 2014}}</ref> He explained that in August, he had visited a nuclear waste disposal facility in Finland, where he learned that nuclear waste would have to be sealed up for 100,000 years. A poll by the ''[[Asahi Shimbun]]'' in November 2013 found that 54% of the public supported Koizumi's anti-nuclear statements.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ex-Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi urges zero nuclear power|url=http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2013/11/13/Ex-Japanese-Prime-Minister-Junichiro-Koizumi-urges-zero-nuclear-power/UPI-57011384370937/|access-date=9 January 2014|newspaper=UPI|date=13 November 2013}}</ref> Koizumi told one reporter that he felt lied to by the [[Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan]], which characterized nuclear power as a safe alternative to fossil fuels, stating that "we certainly had no idea how difficult it is to control nuclear energy."<ref name="okubo0112" />

Koizumi reportedly approached Morihiro Hosokawa, who served as prime minister in an anti-LDP coalition cabinet in the 1990s, to run for Governor of Tokyo in the [[2014 Tokyo gubernatorial election|February 2014 gubernatorial election]] on the platform of opposing the Abe government's pro-nuclear policy.<ref>{{cite news|title=細川元首相が出馬か？ 東京都知事選 見えてきた戦いの構図|url=http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20140105-00010000-noborder-pol|access-date=8 January 2014|newspaper=Daily Noborder|date=5 January 2014|quote=1月4日、『週刊ポスト』と『日刊ゲンダイ』がビッグネームの出馬の可能性を伝えたのだ。それは、元首相の細川護煕氏を、元首相の小泉純一郎氏が推すという驚愕の構図だ。|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104230501/http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20140105-00010000-noborder-pol|archive-date=4 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=細川元首相、都知事選候補に浮上 「脱原発」争点に|url=http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASG187HX7G18UTFK00W.html|access-date=9 January 2014|newspaper=朝日新聞|date=9 January 2014|quote=立候補した際には「脱原発」を最大の争点にする意向だ。このため、同じく「脱原発」を掲げる小泉氏との連携を重視。小泉氏からの支援を受けられるかどうか慎重に見極めている。}}</ref>
Hosokawa ran in the election with Koizumi's support, but lost to the LDP-supported candidate [[Yōichi Masuzoe]]. Koizumi and Hosokawa continued their collaboration in the wake of this defeat, organizing an anti-nuclear forum to be held in May 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title=Koizumi, Hosokawa to set up anti-nuclear forum|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/04/15/national/koizumi-hosokawa-to-set-up-anti-nuclear-forum/#.U1ni41WSySo|access-date=25 April 2014|newspaper=Kyodo News|date=15 April 2014}}</ref>

Koizumi traveled to the United States in 2016 in support of a lawsuit by [[Operation Tomodachi]] participants who claimed illness from radiation exposure caused by the Fukushima disaster.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Steele|first1=Jeanette|title=Japan's former PM backs sick U.S. sailors|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/may/17/reagan-radiation-sick-sailors-japan-koizumi/|access-date=19 May 2016|work=San Diego Union-Tribune|date=17 May 2016|archive-date=19 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519110448/http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/may/17/reagan-radiation-sick-sailors-japan-koizumi/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Koizumi lives in [[Yokosuka]], Kanagawa.<ref>{{cite news|title=小泉元首相宅に侵入容疑で女を逮捕|url=http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20140111/k10014429481000.html|access-date=12 January 2014|newspaper=NHK|date=11 January 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112063222/http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20140111/k10014429481000.html|archive-date=12 January 2014}}</ref>

===Family===
Koizumi married 21-year-old university student Kayoko Miyamoto in 1978. The couple had been formally introduced to each other as potential spouses, a common practice known as ''[[omiai]]''. The wedding ceremony at the Tokyo Prince Hotel was attended by about 2,500 people, including [[Takeo Fukuda]] (then Prime Minister), and featured a [[wedding cake]] shaped like the [[National Diet Building]]. The marriage ended in divorce in 1982, as Kayoko was reportedly unhappy with her married life for several reasons.<ref name=time>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20071120110800/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,174303-1,00.html Japan's Destroyer]", ''Time'', 10 September 2001.</ref> After this divorce, Koizumi never married again, saying that divorce consumed ten times more energy than marriage.<ref>"[Koizumi's ex-wife ready to lend a hand, has 'nothing to lose']", Kyodo News, 9 May 2001.</ref>

Koizumi had custody of two of his three sons: [[Kotaro Koizumi|Kōtarō Koizumi]] and [[Shinjirō Koizumi]], who were reared by one of his sisters. Shinjiro is the representative for [[Kanagawa's 11th district]], a position his father has also filled, while Kotaro is an actor. The youngest son, Yoshinaga Miyamoto, now a graduate of Keio University, was born following the divorce<ref name=washpost>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/05/19/for-japanese-a-typical-tale-of-divorce/38e28942-cc7d-44b7-b7cd-696cc1782f61/|title=For Japanese, a Typical Tale of Divorce|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=19 May 2001|first=Kathryn|last=Tolbert}}</ref> and did not meet Koizumi for many years. Yoshinaga is known to have attended one of Koizumi's rallies, but was turned away from trying to meet his father. He was also turned away from attending his paternal grandmother's funeral.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1763663,00.html Japanese PM keeps lost son at bay]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}", ''The Times'', 4 September 2005.</ref> Koizumi's ex-wife Kayoko Miyamoto also asked unsuccessfully several times to meet their two eldest sons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jref.com/threads/for-japanese-a-typical-tale-of-divorce.110/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202234314/http://www.jref.com/forum/japanese-news-hot-topics-4/japanese-typical-tale-divorce-110/|url-status=dead|title=For Japanese, a Typical Tale of Divorce|archive-date=2 December 2013|website=Japan Reference}}</ref> Yoshinaga met his father and brothers for the first time in 2010, at a meeting arranged by Shinjiro. Koizumi and his two elder sons also attended Yoshinaga's wedding in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |title=小泉純一郎氏 絶縁状態だった三男の結婚式に出席、出席者涙 |url=https://www.news-postseven.com/archives/20140207_240143.html?DETAIL |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=NEWSポストセブン |language=ja}}</ref>

Koizumi is known to have a cousin in Brazil, and was overwhelmed to the point of tears when he visited Brazil in 2004 and was met by a group of Japanese immigrants.<ref name="okubo0112" />

===Interests===
[[File:Koizumi in Graceland 2006.jpg|thumb|Koizumi, hosted by U.S. President George W. Bush, at [[Graceland]] in 2006]]
Koizumi is a fan of German composer [[Richard Wagner]] and has released a CD of his favorite pieces by contemporary Italian composer [[Ennio Morricone]].<ref>''Watashi no daisuki na morrikone myujikku'', ASIN B000ALJ04G. [https://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000ALJ04G/ Amazon link]</ref> He is also a fan of the heavy metal band [[X Japan]], with the LDP having even used their song "[[Forever Love (X Japan song)|Forever Love]]" in television commercials in 2001.<ref>{{cite news|title=Japanese PM's son seeks limelight|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1468352.stm|work=[[BBC News]]|date=1 August 2001|access-date=9 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=LDP unveils new TV commercials, poster featuring Koizumi|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/LDP+unveils+new+TV+commercials,+poster+featuring+Koizumi.-a074937979|work=thefreelibrary.com|date=16 May 2001|access-date=1 July 2007}}</ref> It was also reported that he was influential in getting the museum honoring X Japan's deceased guitarist [[Hide (musician)|Hide]] made.<ref>{{cite web| title = Crystal Skulls: 'hatsumode' for the groove generation; Yokosuka joins the party | work = [[The Japan Times]]| url = http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2003/02/01/music/crystal-skulls-hatsumode-for-the-groove-generation-yokosuka-joins-the-party/#.UXxIWcpArIV| date= 1 February 2003| access-date = 9 July 2013}}</ref>

Koizumi is also a noted fan of [[Elvis Presley]], with whom he shares a birthday (8 January). In 2001, he released a collection of his favorite Presley songs on CD, with his comments about each song.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2 June 2007|title=Junichiro Koizumi Presents My Favourite Elvis Songs|url=https://www.elvisnews.com/shop/details/214|access-date=|website=ElvisNews.com}}</ref> His brother is Senior Advisor of the Tokyo Elvis Presley Fan Club. Koizumi and his brother helped finance a statue of Presley in Tokyo's [[Harajuku]] district. On 30 June 2006, Koizumi visited Presley's estate, [[Graceland]], accompanied by U.S. President George W. Bush, and First Lady [[Laura Bush]]. After arriving in [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] aboard [[Air Force One]], they headed to Graceland. While there, Koizumi briefly sang a few bars of his favourite Presley tunes, whilst warmly impersonating Presley, and wearing Presley's trademark oversized golden sunglasses.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5132376.stm?ls Singing Japan PM tours Graceland], BBC News, 30 June 2006.</ref>

Koizumi is also a fan of Finnish composer [[Jean Sibelius]]. On 8 September 2006, he and Finnish Prime Minister [[Matti Vanhanen]] visited the [[Ainola|Sibelius' home]], where Koizumi showed respect to the late composer with a moment of silence. He owns reproductions of the manuscripts of all seven symphonies by Sibelius.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Prime Minister Observes Ainola|url=http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/koizumiphoto/2006/09/07finland_e.html|publisher=Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet|access-date=10 August 2013|date=September 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Sibelius is celebrated in Japan|url=http://www.finland.or.jp/Public/default.aspx?contentid=151557&nodeid=41206&contentlan=2&culture=en-US|publisher=EMBASSY OF FINLAND, Tokyo|access-date=10 August 2013|date=20 September 2007}}</ref>

In 2009, Koizumi made a [[voice acting]] appearance in an [[Ultra Series]] feature film, ''[[Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend The Movie]]'', playing the voice of [[Ultraman King]]. Koizumi said he took on the role at the urging of his son Shinjiro.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE59C0QH20091013|title=After quitting politics, Japan's Koizumi turns superhero| first=Yoko|last=Kubota|date=13 October 2009|work=Reuters}}</ref> His political career is parodied in a [[seinen manga]], ''[[Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku]]'', which re-interprets his life as a [[mahjong]] master.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}

He has been compared many times to American actor [[Richard Gere]], because of their similar hair style.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Entertainment/20050329/gere_koizumi_050329/ |title=Richard Gere, Japan's PM share a dance |date=29 March 2005 |work=CTV |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330124031/http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Entertainment/20050329/gere_koizumi_050329/ |archive-date=30 March 2012 }}</ref> In 2005, he used the latter as a boost for his falling popularity, by staging an "impromptu ballroom dance performance".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4390753.stm|title=Koizumi takes a turn with Gere|date=29 March 2005| work=BBC News}}</ref>

==Koizumi cabinets==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
! !! First<br />(26 April 2001) !! First, Realigned<br />(30 September 2002) !! Second<br />(19 November 2003) !! Second, Realigned<br />(22 September 2004) !! Third, Realigned<br />(31 October 2005)
|-
! [[Chief Cabinet Secretary|Secretary]] 
| colspan="3" | [[Yasuo Fukuda]] <sup>4</sup> || [[Hiroyuki Hosoda]] || [[Shinzō Abe]]
|-
! [[Minister of Public Management, Internal Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications|Internal Affairs]] 
| colspan="2" | [[Toranosuke Katayama]] 
| colspan="2" | [[Taro Aso]] || [[Heizō Takenaka]] <sup>3</sup>
|-
! [[Minister of Justice|Justice]] 
| colspan="2" | [[Mayumi Moriyama]] || [[Daizō Nozawa]] || [[Chieko Nohno]] || [[Seiken Sugiura]]
|-
! [[Minister of Foreign Affairs|Foreign Affairs]]
| [[Makiko Tanaka]] <sup>1</sup>
| colspan="2" | [[Yoriko Kawaguchi]] || [[Nobutaka Machimura]] || [[Taro Aso]]
|-
! [[Minister of Finance|Finance]] 
| colspan="2" | [[Masajuro Shiokawa]] 
| colspan="3" | [[Sadakazu Tanigaki]]
|-
! [[Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan)|Education]] 
| colspan="2" | [[Fumio Kishida]] || [[Takeo Kawamura (politician)|Takeo Kawamura]] || [[Nariaki Nakayama]] || [[Kenji Kosaka (politician)|Kenji Kosaka]] 
|-
! [[Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan)|Health]] 
| colspan="3" | [[Chikara Sakaguchi]] || [[Hidehisa Otsuji]] || [[Jirō Kawasaki]]
|-
! [[Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan)|Agriculture]]
| [[Tsutomu Takebe]] || [[Tadamori Oshima]] <sup>2</sup> || [[Yoshiyuki Kamei]] || [[Yoshinobu Shimamura]] || [[Shoichi Nakagawa]]
|-
! [[Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (Japan)|Economy]] 
| colspan="2" | [[Takeo Hiranuma]] 
| colspan="2" | [[Shōichi Nakagawa]] || [[Toshihiro Nikai]]
|-
! [[Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport|Land]] 
| colspan="2" | [[Chikage Oogi]] || [[Nobuteru Ishihara]] 
| colspan="2" | [[Kazuo Kitagawa]]
|-
! [[Minister of the Environment|Environment]]
| [[Hiroshi Oki]] <sup>1</sup> || [[Shunichi Suzuki (politician)|Shunichi Suzuki]] 
| colspan="3" | [[Yuriko Koike]]
|-
! [[National Public Safety Commission (Japan)|Public Safety]]
| rowspan=2 | [[Jin Murai]] || [[Sadakazu Tanigaki]] || [[Kiyoko Ono]] || rowspan=2 | [[Yoshitaka Murata]] || rowspan=2 | [[Tetsuo Kutsukake]]
|-
! Disaster Prevention
| [[Yoshitada Konoike]] || [[Kiichi Inoue]]
|-
! [[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Defense]]
| [[Gen Nakatani]] 
| colspan="2" | [[Shigeru Ishiba]] || [[Yoshinori Ohno]] || [[Fukushiro Nukaga]]
|-
! Economic Policy
| [[Heizō Takenaka]] <sup>3</sup>
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" | [[Heizō Takenaka]] || [[Heizō Takenaka]] || rowspan=2 | [[Kaoru Yosano]]
|-
! Financial Affairs
| [[Hakuo Yanagisawa]] || [[Tatsuya Ito (politician)|Tatsuya Ito]] 
|-
! Admin. and Reg. Reform 
| colspan="2" | [[Nobuteru Ishihara]] || [[Kazuyoshi Kaneko]] || [[Seiichiro Murakami]] || [[Kōki Chūma]]
|-
! Technology
| [[Koji Omi]] || [[Hiroyuki Hosoda]] || [[Toshimitsu Motegi]] || [[Yasufumi Tanahashi]] || [[Iwao Matsuda]]
|-
! Youth and Gender
| colspan=4 | || [[Kuniko Inoguchi]] 
|}

Notes:
# [[Makiko Tanaka]] was fired on 29 January 2002. Koizumi served as interim foreign minister until 1 February, when he appointed then-environment minister [[Yoriko Kawaguchi]] to the post. Koizumi appointed Hiroshi Oki to replace Kawaguchi.
# Oshima resigned on 31 March 2003, due to a farm-subsidy scandal. He was replaced by Kamei, who was kept in the next reshuffle.
# Takenaka has also held the portfolio of Minister of State for Postal Privatization since the first Koizumi cabinet. He is the only person to serve on Koizumi's cabinet through all five reshuffles.
# Fukuda resigned on 7 May 2004, and was replaced by Hosoda.

==See also==
{{Portal|Japan|Biography}}
*[[List of prime ministers of Japan]]
* [[First Koizumi Cabinet]]
* [[Second Koizumi Cabinet]]
* [[Third Koizumi Cabinet]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Envall, Hans David Persson. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/H_D_P_Envall/publication/233192119_Exceptions_that_Make_the_Rule_Koizumi_Jun'ichiro_and_Political_Leadership_in_Japan/links/55ef042208ae199d47bff2df/Exceptions-that-Make-the-Rule-Koizumi-Junichiro-and-Political-Leadership-in-Japan.pdf "Exceptions That Make the Rule? Koizumi Jun'Ichirō and Political Leadership in Japan"]. ''Japanese Studies'' 28.2 (2008): 227–242.
* Hoover, William D. ''Historical dictionary of postwar Japan'' (2011). 
* Kaihara, Hiroshi.  "Japan's political economy and Koizumi's structural reform: A rise and fall of neoclassical economic reform in Japan." ''East Asia'' 25.4 (2008): 389–405.
* Köllner, Patrick (October 2006). "The Liberal Democratic Party at 50: Sources of Dominance and Changes in the Koizumi Era." ''Social Science Japan Journal'' (October 2006) 9#2 pp. 243–257. {{doi|10.1093/ssjj/jyl026}}. {{JSTOR|30209541}}.
* Lee, Jeong Yeon. "Getting Japan Back on the Sustainable Growth Path: Lessons from the Koizumi Era." ''Asian Perspective'' (2015): 513–540. {{JSTOR|43738129}}.
* Mishima, Ko. "Grading Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi's revolution: how far has the LDP’s Policymaking changed?" ''Critical Readings on the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan'' (Brill, 2018) pp.&nbsp;1557–1578.
* Mulgan, Aurelia George. ''Japan's Failed Revolution: Koizumi and the Politics of Economic Reform'' (2013) [https://www.amazon.com/Japans-Failed-Revolution-Politics-Economic/dp/1925021041/ excerpt]
* "[http://www.law.unc.edu/components/handlers/document.ashx?category=24&subcategory=52&cid=643 Reform in the Rising Sun: Koizumi’s Bid to Revise Japan’s Pacifist Constitution]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20140903092113/http://www.law.unc.edu/components/handlers/document.ashx?category=24&subcategory=52&cid=643 Archive]). ''[[North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation]]'' Vol. 32, p.&nbsp;335–390.
* Otake, Hideo, Kosuke Mizuno, and Pasuk Phongpaichit, "Neoliberal populism in Japanese politics: A study of Prime Minister Koizumi in comparison with President Reagan." ''Populism in Asia'' (2009): 202–216.
* Pohlkamp, Elli-Katharina. "Public Opinion and Japanese Foreign Policy Decision-Making Processes During the Koizumi Administration" (PhD Diss. Universitätsbibliothek Tübingen, 2014) [https://d-nb.info/1162971568/34 online in English].
* Stockwin, J. A. A. "From Koizumi to Abe: Same Bed, Different Dreams?" ''Japanese Studies'' 27.3 (2007): 223–230.
* Uchiyama, Yu. ''Koizumi and Japanese Politics: Reform Strategies and Leadership Style'' (Routledge, 2010).

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikiquote}}
*[http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/pm/koizumi/ Speeches and Statements by Junichiro Koizumi]
*[http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/koizumiprofile/index_e.html Profile of Prime Minister Koizumi]
*[http://www.yasukuni.or.jp/english/ Yasukuni Shrine official website]
*{{IMDb name|2414960|Jun'ichirô Koizumi}}
*{{C-SPAN|45354}}

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{{s-ttl|title=[[President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|President of the Liberal Democratic Party]]|years=2001&ndash;2006}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Shinzō Abe]]}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Naoto Kan]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare|Minister of Health and Welfare]]|years=1996&ndash;1998}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Prime Minister of Japan]]|years=2001–2006}}
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{{Prime Ministers of Japan}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Koizumi, Junichiro}}
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